Documenting avian diversity through collections and research

The Bird Division, with two curators and three staff along with students, associates, and volunteers, continues a tradition of research and collections that dates back to the founding of the museum. Shannon Hackett and John Bates, the current curators, study the evolution of birds and their parasites at all levels of the avian taxonomic hierarchy, from how orders and families are related to genetic structure at the population level. Ben Marks is Collections Manager of Birds.

The Division continues to conduct active field research particularly in Africa and South America. The countries where we have worked in the last 10 years include: The Philippines, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico, Kenya, Madagascar, Ghana, Central African Republic, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. You can see more about our African programs on our African Birds website.

Current staff and contact information for research associates, and students:

Birds Collections

This search allows you to explore Field Museum's Bird Division egg and nest collections. With more than 500,000 data-rich specimens, our worldwide collections receive heavy use by US and international visitors and borrowers.
We encourage you to contact us if you need additional information or want to request a loan of specimens.

This search allows you to explore Field Museum's Bird Division main collection of skin, skeleton, and spirit specimens. With more than 500,000 data-rich specimens, our worldwide collections receive heavy use by US and international visitors and borrowers.
We encourage you to contact us if you need additional information or want to request a loan of specimens.

This search allows you to explore Field Museum's Bird Division collection of genetic resources.
We encourage you to contact us if you need additional information or want to request a loan of specimens. When you are ready to prepare a loan request, please follow the guidelines outlined in our destructive sampling policy found here.